Latio Interlunium
by bernaner
Summary: Latio Interlunium - Bringing of the New Moon. A story about just how the Marauders figured out Remus Lupin was a werewolf - and what happened to their little band of four as a result. (PG-13 for language, and some slightly scary stuff that's coming up lat
1. Default Chapter

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Author's Notes

Hello hello. This is my first attempt at Harry Potter/Marauders/etc. fanfiction, so if I'm amazingly horrible, uh… bear with me? Ehee.

This is my take on what happened when the Marauders found out Remus was a werewolf. Yes, I am quite original. Anyways. I hope you all enjoy it. Comments are greatly appreciated! Criticism is welcome but please don't crush my hopes and dreams. Or something.

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters, although that would be really hot if I did.

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"…and with the confessions of Pierre and Georges, the case came to a close. The majority of the Gandillion family was later executed, after a short time in prison…"

Remus Lupin folded the corner of his page, then shut the ancient book, coughing as dust flew off the yellowed pages. A History and Study of Werewolves by Emelia Bisclavret… it wasn't exactly what he was looking for, but it made for a good read anyway. The chapter on identifying a werewolf had been helpful, but it wasn't quite what he needed.

Not that Remus had any trouble identifying werewolves, being one himself.

It was his friends who were the problem, really. Nobody liked a werewolf, and thus far he had managed to keep them in the dark about the whole thing. That's why he had friends in the first place, after all. If they did know… if they found out…

He pushed the distressing thought to the back of his mind, hoisted himself out of the squashy armchair he had sunk down into, and wandered towards the boys' dormitory. He gazed down at the book in his hands, smiling in amusement at the bizarre illustration of what he guessed was supposed to be a werewolf. Its bright red eyes gleamed with an absolute hatred as it growled, drool forming at the corners of its mouth and dripping off of its comically long fangs. Remus was certain that he did not, in addition to his lycanthropy, have rabies, as the picture would have him believe.

Though his friends assumed his interest in books on werewolves was purely out of curiosity, Remus used them for something else entirely. He was particularly occupied by any book that showed how to identify one of his kind, because that was the key to keeping his secret just that… a secret. If the book told him that about a week before the full moon he would begin to lose his appetite, then Remus would force his dinner down his throat with a smile on his face. If it declared that he would become easily distracted, he did his homework even more thoroughly than usual. If he was supposed to be in pain, he would grin and bear it.

Nobody could know.

Despite his valiant efforts, Remus still could not prevent the sickly look that marred his otherwise graceful features once a month. He could hide so many of his symptoms when the moon began to wax, but he couldn't keep the dark shadows from appearing under his eyes, or the ghostly pallor from his face. No matter how much he tried, he wouldn't be able to stop the monthly disappearances. As much as he would have liked to deny it, everyone was suspicious. He just had to make it as hard as possible for them to confirm those suspicions.

"Hey, Remus!"

Remus jumped, a bit startled. He was quickly jolted from his thoughts and realized he had gone up into the dormitory without noticing. He grinned at the speaker. "Hey James."

James Potter grinned broadly at him. "What's up? You look a bit pale, feeling alright?" He was standing in front of a full-length mirror, dressed in red and gold Quidditch robes that were a bit too big for him.

Remus shrugged. "Yeah, I'm alright, didn't get much sleep last night. Probably just don't look so good from being tired." He paused for a moment, then quickly changed the subject. "So, Kali's getting you fitted up for Quidditch?"

"Yeah, I'm going to meet her down in the common room in a bit so she can take up a few seams," he replied, holding up his arms a bit to show that his hands were almost entirely covered by the sleeves. Just his fingertips poked out of the ends. "Now that that great git Weasley's off and graduated, I get to play. It's about time, don't you think? I think Simpson's going to be a much better captain. She knows talent when she sees it. Doesn't just go by that _seniority_ crap like Weasley."

Remus laughed. "I don't think I would let a first year on the team either, if I was a seventh year," he said, in their former captain's defense.

"You would if the first year was as good as I am," boasted James, striking a rather ridiculous heroic pose. The shoulders of the robes, too broad for his own, sagged off of them, making the boy look even slimmer than he actually was.

"Of course," Remus replied, with the slightest hint of sarcasm. He stepped up next to James and imitated his pose in front of the mirror. "Hello, my name is James Potter, and I've got the biggest head in the world now that I'm on the Quidditch team. At this time, you may all bow down and worship… grovel at my feet, if you please…"

"You know I was kidding." James punched him lightly in the shoulder, grinning, and they both laughed. The two of them, standing there before the mirror, made for an amusing sight. James in his absurd robes, and Remus with his book, every bit as scrawny as his counterpart (though not quite as tall), both with their chests puffed out, feet apart, and hands on their hips defiantly.

"Look, Pete, we found them, and they're… er… playing superheroes, I think," came a voice from behind them. Remus turned and saw Sirius Black standing in the doorway, along with Peter Pettigrew. Sirius was holding James' invisibility cloak, and Peter had a bag of somesort. Judging from the bit of chocolate on his face, Remus guessed that it had the remains of dessert in it.

"Been down to the kitchens again?" he asked.

Peter nodded, grinning. "Yeah, we got a bunch of those little cakes they had at dinner. Want one?" He reached into the bag and tossed one each to Remus and James, who both dug in as if they had skipped dinner entirely.

"We had a bunch more, but Pete decided he was going to eat half of them on the way back up here," said Sirius, grabbing a cake of his own and taking a big bite.

"You helped," murmured Peter, walking over to his nightstand and setting the bag down on it. "We wanted you two to come along, but we couldn't find either of you. You disappeared after dinner."

"Well, I had to go meet Kali to get these," said James, pointing to his robes, "And I think Remus has been to the library."

"Go figure," snorted Sirius, holding his hands up. "Let me see, Rem. By the way, James, you look like an absolute idiot in those…"

Remus tossed him the book, then sat down on the edge of one of the beds. He had gotten used to his friends teasing him about his fondness for reading after only about a week of enduring it. It took just that week in the beginning of his first year for him to become fed up with their remarks, shout at the three of them for it, and then get laughed at even more for not realizing it was "only out of love".

"Werewolves again," remarked Sirius, flipping through the pages without much interest. "Last week it was vampires, giants the week before that."

"The one on vampires was better."

"Yes, of course," he said absently, handing the book back to Remus, who set it down on his nightstand and then rejoined the others.

__

How funny would it be if they realized that the answer had been sitting right under their noses the whole time? he wondered.

__

Not very funny, he reminded himself quickly. _Not very funny at all._

"So what are you three up to tonight?" asked James, finishing off the remains of his cake. "Homework?" He grinned, knowing the answer to the question before he even asked it.

"Of course not!" exclaimed Sirius, an almost offended look on his face. "All we had to do was practice the stuff for Charms. Which we never do anyway…"

"And that Potions essay," Peter interjected.

Sirius frowned for a moment. "Oh. Well, that can wait til lunch hour tomorrow. Shouldn't be too hard." He shook his head and continued, "Anyway, I'll tell you what we're all going to do tonight," he grinned at the three of them, and Remus knew at once that he had something planned. "It's been a while since we've pissed Filch off, hasn't it?"

"And gotten away with it," Remus said quietly.

Sirius ignored him. "Yeah, well, I'm thinking we borrow a few of the rats we were using in Transfiguration, the cloak, cast a few flying spells and torment that god-awful cat of his for a while…"

James snorted. "It's amateur at best, but it'll work. Keep us entertained for a while, maybe," he stood up and brushed a few crumbs off his robes, then shot a strange look at Remus. "Of course, Remmy won't be going."

Remus merely raised an eyebrow and stared at him.

"What are you talking about?" demanded Peter, glancing between the two of them.

"He's tired," James simpered mockingly. "He's tired, he has homework to do, and naturally he wouldn't want to suffer through another _detention._"

Remus scoffed. "Stop being a git, of course I'm going." He was a bit surprised that James had picked up on the doubts that had been running through his mind, but with his last comment, he had erased them all completely. If he didn't go with them after that, they would know something was wrong.

James looked pleased, and the other two, relieved. "Excellent. We'll get to it once Kali's done making adjustments. I'm supposed to meet her in a few minutes," he said, then turned on his heel and walked toward the staircase.

Remus stood up and followed him. "What in the world was that about?" he asked, stopping James in the doorway.

"Couldn't have you copping out on us, could I?" James responded, grinning good-naturedly. "Nothing personal, Remus. I just know the only way to guarantee you'll help us out with this kind of thing is to wound your pride a bit."

"Naturally," Remus rolled his eyes and lightly shoved James out of the doorway. "Now shut up and go get your robes fitted," he laughed.

"Aye aye," James saluted, laughing, and ran down the steps into the common room.

Remus turned and went to get his Potions homework, sighing quietly. He really didn't feel like making rats fly around the halls… he didn't feel like doing much of anything. He had about three days until full moon, and was experiencing all the symptoms that all the books told him he would. No appetite, no energy, and sleepless nights…

But if he was going to keep his friends from worrying, he didn't have much choice but to go. While he was the 'sensible' one of the group, Remus still very rarely missed an opportunity to act up with the others. They probably wouldn't think anything of just one absence, but he didn't want to risk anything.

The three of them, after all, were all that he really had.

__

Flying rats for the sake of my friendships, he thought bitterly, as he scribbled out the beginnings of his Potions essay.

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Mkay, so first chapters are never that exciting. I will (hopefully) have this updated soon, but I make no guarantees because I write in weird little spurts. Aha.

Much love and many thanks to you for reading this! Once again, comments are very much appreciated.

- Anna


	2. Chapter Two

**Notes: **Holy Toledo, it's been a while! 

I apologize. Times a billion. Yikes, I really am sorry for neglecting this story for so long! Life got a bit insane once summer came to an end. I actually had the first three-quarters of this chapter written before first semester started, so I don't know why I took so long to come back to it and add just a little more.

Anyway. This chapter is basically a bunch more background, characterization, and just a teeny tiny bit of plot starting up, which means it was a lot of fun to write. I hope you enjoy and you aren't overly upset with me! Please, PLEASE review. Give me constructive criticism and I'll… uh… love you long time!

Anna

* * *

Three days later, the boys were still celebrating the success of their flying-rat scheme. It had been carefully executed and went off without a hitch, which was quite surprising to Remus, considering it had hardly been planned at all. The most difficult part had been smuggling the rats from their cage in the Transfiguration classroom, but once they overcame that burden, things went smoothly, more or less.

James and Sirius entertained themselves for a while by chasing a group of older Hufflepuff girls with several of the terribly confused rats, until the commotion finally attracted Filch's grungy cat. The ancient-looking tabby peered around with great yellow eyes, her matted tail swishing back and forth with impatience as the rats hovered just beyond her reach. The boys taunted her for a while, then Sirius suggested in a hushed whisper that they move toward the bathroom down the hallway.

The other three did not ask what sort of perversion he had planned, and Remus was not entirely sure he wanted to know anyway. However, curiosity got the better of them, as usual, and they made their way with Sirius to the bathroom.

They all understood what was going on, after Sirius led the cat into the empty bathroom and floated his terrified-looking rat just above one of the toilet seats. They followed suit with their own flying rats, stifling their snickers with some difficulty.

The cat crouched in front of the toilet, growling quietly as the rats squeaked with fright. Her tail lashed back and forth with irritation. At long last, she finally sprang, at which point the four boys levitated the rats just out of her reach once more. With a pitiful yowl and a splash, the cat had been defeated.

That was when Filch had arrived. The boys heard him come roaring down the hallway, and made a mad dash out of the bathroom. They did not stop until they were in an abandoned hallway two floors away. At this point, they left James with the cloak and the responsibility of returning the rats to the Transfiguration classroom. The remaining three-quarters of the foursome took refuge in the library, and when Filch demanded to know just what they had done to his precious feline, managed to play innocent until he left.

Yes, the flying rats were far more of a success than anyone had anticipated, and Remus had been cheered up considerably, despite the fact that his legs felt ready to give out at the very end of their dash to the library.

* * *

"So, have either of you figured out how to get it to change without leaving one of the legs on?"

Peter held up a small green lizard by the tail, peering at it as if it held some deep, dark secret. The lizard squirmed as it attempted to right itself, finally getting a grip on the boy's middle finger and crawling back up on top of his hand. Remus' quill stopped its quick scratching as he glanced up at Peter, raising a brow.

"You saw us both do it in class, Pete," he commented.

"Yes, I know. That was just my way of suggesting one of you help me already."

Sirius snorted and plucked the lizard off of Peter's hand, then prodded it with his wand. There was a loud pop, and where the creature had once been was a little garden snake, which slithered up onto his wand. "It's not that hard."

"Easy for you to say, you've got perfect marks in that class," Peter retorted. "But you need to help me figure it out, McGonagall already gave me extra time to do it, and if I can't do it well by class Thursday she'll hex me into tiny little pieces…"

Remus set down his quill and returned his parchment to his bag. It was a very difficult time to concentrate on homework, for several reasons; the first and foremost being that it was full moon day, and his mind kept wandering. The fact that Quidditch players kept flying just above their heads and shouting did not help much either. The three of them were acting as an audience at James' first-ever Gryffindor Quidditch practice, much to the delight of their resident rising star. He had made them promise, repeatedly, to show up and watch, even though none of them had even considered missing it anyway.

Sirius tapped the snake and with another pop, it was a lizard once more. "Just keep trying it, you'll get it. We've managed to get much harder things through that thick skull of yours," he grinned good-naturedly and handed the lizard over to Peter.

"Don't see why we need to study Transfiguration anyway," he muttered moodily, letting the lizard run the length of his arm up to his elbow before he plucked it up again. "Who comes up with this stuff? And why do they need a _garden snake_?"

Remus leaned back, half-smiling in amusement. He, Sirius, and James were in a constant state of helping Peter with Transfiguration, which was by far his most dismal subject. It wasn't one of Remus' strong points, either, and while he rather disliked both the subject and the teacher, it was one of his favorite classes. It was in this class that the four boys had become such good friends, when they had all wound up sitting near each other in their first year. Sirius and Remus sat at one table, and Peter and James were immediately behind them.

By a stroke of luck, a bit of natural charm, and a few empty promises, they had managed to keep Professor McGonagall from changing those seats. Remus suspected that the professor's tolerance of their antics and chatter was her subtle way of suggesting that she actually liked them.

"I'm hungry," announced Sirius suddenly, standing up. "D'you think James will mind if we skip the end of his practice for dinner?"

"I doubt it, but tell him we're leaving anyway," Remus suggested.

"Good idea… don't want him thinking we've abandoned him for no reason… or been mauled by vampires, or something…" he trailed off, then shouted, "Hey James!"

Fifty feet above them, the smallest Quidditch player on the team glanced down into the stands.

Sirius took a deep breath and shouted once more, "We're starved and we're going to eat now! Meet us later in the— whoops…"

A Bludger had come flying at James unexpectedly, and as he was paying attention to Sirius instead of the drill, it had nearly knocked him off his broom. Remus winced, Peter snickered, and Sirius just grinned.

"You three!" a female voice shrieked at them from on high. Kali Simpson, the curly-haired team captain, made a sharp turn and dove straight for them. "If you distract him _one – more – time_…!" She landed and immediately began marching toward them menacingly. "I'm going to beat _all _of your skinny little asses into the ground!"

The three boys needed no more encouragement, and sprinted off toward the castle, laughing as the blonde raged behind them. Remus distinctly thought he heard her shout "with my broom" just before they were out of earshot.

* * *

Remus stared down into his untouched plate of spaghetti and meatballs, wondering how difficult it could possibly be to pick up his fork and eat at least a few bites. He knew he would regret not eating later, but somehow he could not make himself put the food anywhere near his mouth. He looked away from his dinner and did his best to ignore his stomach as it roiled emptily.

"You alright?"

Remus looked up to find Sirius peering at him curiously from across the table. "Er… yeah, I'm alright…"

"Worried about your mum?"

Remus furrowed his brow for a split second before he understood. "Yeah, just worried."

Sirius smiled reassuringly. "Well, I'm sure she'll be fine. You're going to visit her soon, right?"

"I'm leaving tonight, actually. I forgot to tell you."

Peter frowned at him. "How do you forget to tell us _that_?" he snorted, shaking his head. "So you'll be back by the day after tomorrow, right? Thursday?"

"I think he can figure out what the day after tomorrow is, Pete," Sirius laughed.

Remus offered a weak grin and nodded. "Yes, I'll be back by Thursday, at the latest. Maybe tomorrow afternoon, even." He felt a sudden pang of guilt and the smile fell from his lips. He hated lying to everyone about his monthly disappearances… his mother was in perfect health, and he had led them all to believe that she was inflicted with some dreadful illness that refused to leave.

But honestly, what choice did he have?

"Look at this, you guys," Peter said, a grin spreading over his face slowly as he watched something going on somewhere behind Sirius.

In the aisle between two of the house tables, two students stood across from each other, their wands out and at the ready. One was a large older Slytherin that Remus didn't recognize, and the other was a Gryffindor girl who was in his own year. She had her back to him, but he knew her immediately from her reddish-brown hair that was tied up in an intricate bun at the back of her head. Her hands were both clenched tightly into fists, and though Remus couldn't see her face, he expected it would look absolutely livid.

"Don't you _talk_ about me that way!" she shrieked, placing one hand on her hip and leaning forward. There were a few of her friends standing behind her, each of them looking either furious or frightened.

"Lexi… Lexi, maybe this isn't such a good idea… we should leave…" murmured one of them, reaching for the girl's shoulder tentatively.

"She can't back out _now_," sneered the Slytherin boy. While Lexi had adopted a strange sort of battle stance, he looked perfectly calm, almost relaxed. "The little mudblood's thrown one too many insults at me now, I'm not about to let her get away with it."

Lexi stomped one foot and turned to her friends. "Just back up and let me hex him already!" she hissed, then rounded back on the boy. The girls behind her skittered back a few paces, then drew their wands, as a precaution more than anything else.

Within a split second two spells had been fired at once. Remus heard Lexi's cry of "_Rictusempra_" echo throughout the hall, but the Slytherin had muttered his own spell under his breath. There was a loud _crack _and the boy stumbled back a few paces before doubling over. How much of his laughter was actually a result of the tickling charm, no one would ever know, because his eyes were locked on Lexi, who had just let out a horrified shriek.

The complex knot that her hair had been tied into had fallen out completely as her hair began growing at an alarming rate, quickly falling below her waistline. To make matters worse, it had turned a horrendous shade of lime green. Lexi made an angry sound that reminded Remus of a cat and prepared to fling herself at the Slytherin, but two of her friends had rushed forward to hold her back.

The Great Hall roared with laughter as they dragged Lexi away toward the hospital wing. Her hair glowed like a neon sign was now longer than the girl was tall, and though Remus imagined he would be embarrassed in her situation, that did not seem to be her case. She shrieked obscenities that would shock a sailor and fought bitterly against the group of girls who carried her off.

"Oh, look, poor thing! Her eyebrows have gone green!" someone nearby said, giggling.

"Is it just me or are her arms tinged too?"

Remus grinned, laughing with the rest of them. To anyone who had never attended Hogwarts, the frequency at which little duels like this sprang up would be alarming, but the students and teachers knew better. Of course, the behavior was not condoned; anyone caught dueling was dealt with accordingly, but nonetheless the duels provided entertainment for any student fortunate enough to witness one of them. It was not very surprising that Remus and his friends – James and Sirius in particular – had been in their fair share of the fights.

Sudden silence interrupted his reverie.

Remus jolted slightly in his seat as he went deaf for a split second. A strange image flashed before his eyes – one of dripping fangs, razor claws, and blood…

_Oh, no… _

He glanced up at the Hall's enchanted ceiling and found himself eye to eye with the full moon. From the center of a crowd of twinkling stars, it smiled down at him mockingly, as if to say _You're__ late, let's go, I'm ready, where are you?_

He leapt up from the table, feeling his heart thumping hard against his ribs. He worried for a moment that it would burst from his chest. "I'm late," he choked out, his voice raspy.

Peter and Sirius stared at him with raised brows. "For…?" asked Sirius quietly.

"My… portkey," Remus responded, backing away a few steps. "If I miss it I won't get to – get to see my mum, I have to go, sorry, back soon…"

And with that, he turned on his heel and went flying out of the Great Hall, sprinting towards the front gate. His own echoing footsteps and the crazed beating of his heart were the only sounds he could hear, but they were quickly being drowned out by a loud ringing in his ears.

Sirius rose and walked to the doorway of the Great Hall, frowning with bewilderment. Peter soon followed suit, scratching his head.

"Wonder what his portkey is," he mused aloud as they watched their friend go barreling out of the castle.


End file.
